Cuomo issues call to action

“We have given New Yorkers a government that costs less, taxes less and actually does more for the people who are in need,” Cuomo said Wednesday during his State of the State address.
(Photo: Mike Groll)

ALBANY – Gov. Andrew Cuomo used his State of the State address on Wednesday to focus on New York's economy, pushing a series of tax cuts and reforms that he said would move the state's economic trajectory upward.

Cuomo's 80-minute, agenda-setting speech struck a centrist tone in an election year, promoting the state's successes during his first three years before charting his plans for 2014.

He urged lawmakers to "be bold" and back his proposals, which include more than $2 billion in tax reductions over the next three years and a plan to ask for voter approval to borrow $2 billion to fund technology upgrades in schools.

"We have given New Yorkers a government that costs less, taxes less and actually does more for the people who are in need," Cuomo said. "The progress is not just in the numbers. You can feel it in every region of the state."

Cuomo's fourth annual address followed a central theme — "Building on Success" — that he applied to a number of different topics, from taxes to education to a $17 billion rebuilding plan in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.

He devoted a significant portion of his address to promoting his ideas to boost the long-struggling upstate economy, including a plan to locate a Genomic Medicine Network at the city of Buffalo's medical campus. By the end of the fall, Cuomo said the state will pick winning bidders for a total of four casino licenses in the Southern Tier, Catskills and Capital Region.

Cuomo introduced Mark Gearan, president of Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, Ontario County, as his nominee for the voluntary position of chairman of the New York State Gaming Commission. The commission will oversee the state's new agency for the lottery, horse racing and casinos and will play an integral role in selecting the casino sites.

"Given the importance I place in public service and our citizen duty to ensure honest, transparent government, I have accepted the governor's request to serve," Gearan, who has been president since 1999, said in a statement released by the colleges.

Cuomo, a Democrat, had unveiled several major planks of his speech in advance, including a proposal to freeze property taxes for two years if a local government stays within the state's tax cap and moves toward consolidating services.

The governor also provided a public briefing Tuesday to Vice President Joe Biden on the state's plan to spend $16.7 billion in federal disaster funds on making its infrastructure and housing more weather resistant.

But he delivered details on several new initiatives Wednesday, including a call to ask voters to approve a $2 billion bond referendum, with the money going toward purchasing tablets, computers, wireless services and other technology for schools. The plan would need approval by the state Legislature before it is put to a statewide vote.

"We must transform our classrooms from the classrooms of yesterday to the classrooms of tomorrow," Cuomo said.

Cuomo's education plan also called for expanding full-day prekindergarten to all school districts, though he included no new details on how the state would pay for it or what it would cost.

Another proposal would give full-tuition scholarships to New York students who graduate in the top 10 percent of their class and attend a state college. But there are caveats: The student would have to enter a science, technology, engineering or math field and would have to work in New York for five years.

When it comes to traffic laws, Cuomo wants drivers under the age of 21 to have to turn over their license for a year if convicted of texting while driving. That would double the current penalty.

Cuomo also proposed a law that would revoke a driver license for five years if someone garners two drunken driving convictions within a three-year period. If a driver is convicted of drunken driving three times over a lifetime, their license would be permanently revoked.

The address was generally well received by state lawmakers, who are looking to pass their fourth consecutive on-time budget this year. All 213 legislators are up for election this year, with control of the state Senate potentially up for grabs.

Senate Deputy Republican Leader Thomas Libous, R-Binghamton, said Cuomo has "been very specific in his philosophy and what he wants to do."

Libous was pleased with Cuomo's call to cut corporate taxes, including a proposal to eliminate the corporate income tax for manufacturers located north of Poughkeepsie.

But Cuomo's potential Republican opponent, Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino, knocked the speech. Astorino said he'll make a decision in the next 60 days on whether to challenge Cuomo, who is seeking a second term.

"Governor Cuomo's speech raised more questions than it offered answers," Astorino said in a statement. "It was a laundry-list of proposals that lacked both funding and detail."

State GOP chairman Ed Cox said: "Big words, little performance. It's an election year. This is more politics than reality."

While much of Cuomo's speech focused on fiscal issues, he touched on several social priorities that may face resistance in the Legislature.

He reiterated his support for his 10-point Women's Equality Act, a package of women's-rights bills that was tripped up last year when Senate Republicans declined to approve a strengthening of abortion laws and Assembly Democrats refused to separate it out.

He also formally unveiled his plan to unilaterally legalize medicinal marijuana under a 1980 law that allows it on a limited basis.

Under Cuomo's initiative, 20 unnamed hospitals around the state will be able to prescribe marijuana, but only to patients with diseases that threaten a patient's life or senses.

He did not reveal any more than had already been released about the program over the weekend.

Curtis Haas, director of pharmacy for the University of Rochester Medical Center, said he didn't expect Cuomo to lay out details surrounding the medical marijuana program.

"I think he will create an executive order that puts the responsibility to develop the rules on the commissioner of health, who will create a panel," Haas said.

Haas said he has been studying regulations in other states and has paid particular attention to New Jersey, which he said has strict rules.

"It will be interesting to see how this will work in New York. I think this will happen relatively quickly. I don't think the state wants to spend a year or two implementing this. It's an election year. I anticipate it will be resolved expediently," Haas said.

Cuomo also pleaded with lawmakers to pass a series of bills that would toughen the state's bribery and anti-corruption laws in response to a rash of lawmakers that were hit with criminal charges and sexual-harassment allegations in the last year.

"I believe the more trust we have from the public, the more we can do," Cuomo urged.

He did not make any mention of hydraulic fracturing and shale-gas drilling, an issue that attracted a throng of protesters who chanted outside of the entrance to the Empire State Plaza Convention Center, where Cuomo delivered his address. Cuomo's administration has given no indication when a long-running, de facto moratorium on large-scale fracking may be lifted.

The governor also only mentioned the controversial SAFE Act in passing among his administrations accomplishments. SAFE Act opponents were also among those protesting outside the center.

Cuomo closed his speech with a call for unity among state residents and lawmakers, repeating a three-word phrase over and over again: "We are one."

"That's what made New York great and that's what continues to make New York great — that at the end of the day, we are one," Cuomo said. "We are upstate and we are downstate, but we are one."

"The governor has laid out a bold vision for continuing to fundamentally transform New York and we look forward to working with him in the coming year."

— Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan

"Working with our governing partner Jeff Klein, this historic bipartisan coalition of Republicans and Democrats has put New York on a better and more prosperous path forward."

— Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos, R-Nassau County

"Governor Cuomo is absolutely right: 'When government has the public trust it has the ability to do good work.' We need ethics reform now."

— Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause/NY

"I also appreciate the governor's proposal for increased government consolidation, as Monroe County has long been a statewide leader in establishing shared-service agreements to better protect local taxpayers."

— Maggie Brooks, Monroe County executive

"We applaud the governor for proposing a speedier phase-out of the 18A utility surcharge and recommending energy system improvements, but there's much more to be done."

— Beth Finkel, state director for AARP

"The governor's proposals will take meaningful steps towards achieving this goal by providing $2 billion to freeze and eventually lower property tax rates for homeowners who need it the most."

— Sen. Ted O'Brien, D-Irondequoit

"Rochester Business Alliance is hopeful that the joint executive-legislative commission to reduce barriers on businesses finds ways to improve New York's regulatory environment."

— Sandy Parker, Rochester Business Alliance President and CEO

"I am also encouraged by the governor's proposal to reduce the corporate tax on upstate manufacturers to zero. This is very good news, especially for Rochester's tooling and machining industries. The SUNY STEM scholarship fund will also help us close the skills deficiencies gap that has been identified as one of our major barriers to increased employment and industry sector growth."

— Lovely Warren, Rochester mayor

"Governor Cuomo's strong support of home grown industries like wine and spirits industry is helping to create jobs, expand opportunities and make personal dreams come true."